Tobacco smoking in United Arab Emirates
Data sourced:
2022.
Page updated:
2025-01-25
In the United Arab Emirates, the prevalence of tobacco smoking among adults aged 15 years and older was estimated at 11.7% as of 2022. The gender-specific prevalence rates indicate a significant discrepancy, with males exhibiting a higher prevalence at 15.5%, compared to females at 2.5%. This data reflects a decrease from earlier figures in 2019, where the overall smoking prevalence was 14.7%, with males at 29% and females at 0.5%. In terms of the population size, there were approximately 992,805 tobacco smokers in 2022, a decline from 1,214,070 in 2019. The adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence in 2018 was estimated to be 8%, with 13.9% among males and 2% among females.
The impact of smoking on public health is underscored by mortality data from 2021, which recorded 1,693 smoking-related deaths, constituting 8.45% of all deaths. The gender distribution of these deaths was notably skewed, with 1,479 male deaths (10.23% of male deaths) and 214 female deaths (3.86% of female deaths) attributable to tobacco smoking. This information provides a detailed overview of the tobacco smoking trends and their mortalities in the United Arab Emirates, highlighting the ongoing public health challenges associated with tobacco smoking.
Prevalence
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2019 |
1.2 million |
1A
|
2022 |
992.8 thousand |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
World Population Prospects 2019 [Internet]. United Nations; 2019. (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, editor. Population Division). Report No.: Rev. 1. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2019 |
14.7% |
2A
|
2022 |
11.7% |
2B
A
|
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2019 |
0.5% |
2A
|
2022 |
2.5% |
2B
A
|
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2019 |
29% |
2A
|
2022 |
15.5% |
2B
A
|
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
1001 |
22.9% |
4A
A
|
2018 |
8% |
4B
B
|
Comments:
- These rates are modelled using all national survey data published since 1990 to estimate the underlying prevalence trends by sex, then applying age-standardization to allow comparison with other countries. They do not necessarily resemble country data from 2015
- Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking from the latest survey.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
1001 |
0.7% |
4A
A
|
2018 |
2% |
4B
B
|
Comments:
- These rates are modelled using all national survey data published since 1990 to estimate the underlying prevalence trends by sex, then applying age-standardization to allow comparison with other countries. They do not necessarily resemble country data from 2015
- Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking from the latest survey.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
1001 |
29.6% |
4A
A
|
2018 |
13.9% |
4B
B
|
Comments:
- These rates are modelled using all national survey data published since 1990 to estimate the underlying prevalence trends by sex, then applying age-standardization to allow comparison with other countries. They do not necessarily resemble country data from 2015
- Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking from the latest survey.
Comments:
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
World Population Prospects 2019 [Internet]. United Nations; 2019. (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, editor. Population Division). Report No.: Rev. 1. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/
- Current tobacco smoking rates among people aged 15 years and older, 2022 estimates. Crude adjusted prevalence (%).
- These rates are modelled using all national survey data published since 1990 to estimate the underlying prevalence trends by sex, then applying age-standardization to allow comparison with other countries. They do not necessarily resemble country data from 2015
World Population Prospects 2019 [Internet]. United Nations; 2019. (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, editor. Population Division). Report No.: Rev. 1. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/
- Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking from the latest survey.
Smoking-related mortality
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016 |
3.0 thousand |
1A
|
2021 |
1.7 thousand |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Number of tobacco-related deaths in the population in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016 |
265 |
1A
|
2021 |
214 |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Number of tobacco-related deaths in the population in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016 |
2.7 thousand |
1A
|
2021 |
1.5 thousand |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Number of tobacco-related deaths in the population in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016 |
12.2% |
1A
|
2021 |
8.45% |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Percentage of tobacco-related deaths to deaths from all causes in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016 |
6% |
1A
|
2021 |
3.86% |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Percentage of tobacco-related deaths to deaths from all causes in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Year |
Value |
Reference/Comment |
2016 |
12.8% |
1A
|
2021 |
10.23% |
1B
A
|
Comments:
- Percentage of tobacco-related deaths to deaths from all causes in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
Comments:
- Number of tobacco-related deaths in the population in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
- Percentage of tobacco-related deaths to deaths from all causes in 2021 by gender for all age groups. Tobacco-related mortality includes smoking tobacco use, smokeless tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
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